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  • Thieving Time - a DOS-era inspired platformer

Hello there, I thought I'd share a small project I'm working on in my spare time. Some time ago I decided to try to clone my favorite old DOS game Crystal Caves. However, as time went on, I slowly decided to turn it into my original thing (very clearly inspired by it). Enter Thieving Time, a puzzle platformer set in medieval/renaissance times where you play as a thief trying to collect as many valuables as you can from rich mansions etc.

Development is going slowly due to my time limitations, but quite smoothly.

Current build has two test levels and two proper levels in early development. The game currently uses some sprites ripped from the DOS game, I'll keep replacing them as time goes on.

PLAY IN BROWSER: http://tt.kons.pw/ Goal: Collect all the crystals, reach the exit. Controls: Z - jump, X - shoot, Arrows - move. Press X on the switches to use them.

Debug controls: C - invert gravity, V - switch the lights

18 days later

Hi there,

You're venturing down the rabbit hole of what I'm struggling with, which is getting absolutely pixel perfect control to work. If you know of any good tutorials on this, don't be afraid to post them and any key realisations you made.

Best of luck.

18 days later

A bit of progress in the recent days.

New enemy type: Brute. Slow, normal shots only stun him for a few seconds. New trap: Spike. Extends when you're above it. Redesigned the first level, so it's now actually fun and pretty damn hard (unless you use gravity flipping).

2 months later

Started working on some new sprites. They certainly aren't perfect, but they do the job for now. I'll need a lot more backgrounds, decals and objects to make the levels feel like a proper castle/mansion though.

9 days later

Added custom wall/floor tiles. New enemy: Shielder, can only be hurt from behind. Your bolts now stick to walls and can be used as platforms. You can shoot multiple at a time to create bridges. Each bolt fades out after 3 seconds.

Try the current build at http://tt.kons.pw/

2 years later

Digging up, because I felt like working on this again. Added menu, key rebinding, upgraded to Godot 3.2 and did a lot of behind-the-scenes fixing.

http://tt.kons.pw/ [debug controls: c - invert gravity, v - switch lights off]

Any feedback appreciated.

7 days later

Excellent little platformer. The Crystal Caves vibe is amazing (a favorite game of mine and among the few platformers that I liked). Will your game will have similar structure? (Several small levels contained in an interactive level select level, simple mechanics but many hidden stuff)

Thanks a lot, I'm glad people like it :)

Yes, that was the idea, though I wanted to add some extra replayability/challenges by allowing you to replay past levels and save high score and completion time for each. One difference, small but important, is that I intend to have players start each level with a set amount of ammo instead of bringing whatever they managed to save up, as it'll create a more fair challenge, most importantly, let me design levels and puzzles easier.

To be frank, I'm a bit overwhelmed by the idea of having to design good levels, so I'm still trying to come up and implement different enemies and mechanics so I can then just work with a large palette and not have to worry about implementing new stuff.

7 months later

I got the same idea that you did not too long ago and decided to try and create what is essentially a Crystal Caves level editor so I could make my own CC games. Being new to Godot though I ran into difficulties pretty quickly, especially when it comes to player movement. I found that the player was unable to move into a gap that was player-high, so I ended up using raycasting to detect when the player was right next to a gap and shrink the player's collision body slightly to fit in. However I've run into difficulty trying to allow the player to jump out of a player-high gap thats higher than floor-level, like you can in CC. My player would not slide into them correctly, nor could he jump out. After playing your demo I can see you seem to have solved the issue quite nicely. If you could give a beginner like me any pointers it would be much appreciated!

a month later

A small update, still working on it once every few months :smiley: The news about Crystal Caves HD motivated me to come back to this. Added a basic level hub (press 'X' to enter a level), progress is automatically saved when exiting the level. You can clear save data in the options menu. New enemy and some small bugfixes.

http://tt.kons.pw/ Time to actually design some levels, I suppose.

a month later

Another small update Bunch of fixes, new mechanics, new enemies, proper pause menu 2 actual levels (3rd and 4th door in the hub. Temporary art, just trying out general layouts and some challenge ideas)

http://tt.kons.pw/ Controls: Arrows, Z, X Debug controls (cheats): C - invert gravity, V - turn off the light

Feedback on the levels/difficulty appreciated

8 months later

I just played this, and I think you're off to a great start. Your game really has the feel of early Apogee game, like Commander Keen. I flipped my wig when I discovered the VVVVVV mechanic you have hidden in there. I was disappointed to see that it's a debug feature. I think it would be great as a part of the main gameplay.

I love the big, blocky art style. The movement feels pretty good, too. My only complaint is that the moving platforms often let me fall right through them, even when I definitely jumped high enough to clear them completely and should have landed on them. Keep up the good work.

Next-day edit: Whoa! It is part of the game. I just hadn't played the right level. Awesome.